How the Biggest Brands are Turning to DIY Market Research

In-house market research departments are shrinking, and even the biggest brands in the world are feeling the heat. Faced with budgetary and understaffing constraints with the same expected results, companies are adopting new tools and methodologies to keep up.

This was the main talking point at the DIY Market Research Conference earlier this month in New York. Originally a wildly popular track at TMRE, DIY market research got its own conference starting last year. In just one room in the Westin New York Times Square, technology vendors mingled with end clients. At about 120 people, they saw a 30% attendee increase this year.

Overall, brands spoke on how their emerging methodologies are mixing both qualitative and quantitative research for a more holistic picture. Here are top takeaways from the biggest speaking sessions featured this year:

Verizon

Joe Gonzalez, Manager of Consumer Insights at Verizon, discussed how different market research was from other types of research, and how important it is to get right. At Verizon, they are working to develop their own efficient methods to get the results most beneficial to them. They work with other researchers and agencies to build their own in-house team and find the most ideal blended methodology.

Unilever

Leslie Miller, Director of Marketing for Ice Cream North America at Unilever, touched on how important it is to stay true to your brand while considering research findings. Regardless of results, it’s important to not lose sight of your brand. She spoke on not compromising just 3 things core to your business. This will help keep your brand feel consistent while still considering other options for change when conducting research.

Cuisinart

Chris Demeo, Senior Analyst, Consumer Insights Group at Cuisinart, said that instead of finding alternative solutions to keep up with trends, his team is learning as much as they can internally and finding creative solutions to do more with less. As with Verizon, they are working to train internal teams in market research efficiency.

Even the biggest brands are in need of methodologies and technologies to help them do more with less. They discussed training up internal teams more then exporting the work to agencies, showing that there is a trend and a need for DIY. As this conference grows and more research companies adjust to brands needing in-house solutions, DIY and automation in MR will continue to expand.